NSW Traffic Authority Switches to Mac

[MacRumors]

ComputerWorld.com.au reports (http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;759393285;fp;16;fpid;0) that the New South Wales Traffic Authority will be switching to Macs.

According to the article, the agency will deploy 1200 Apple G4 iMacs across 140 registry offices.

The Apple rollout is a continuation of RTA usage of open standards-based software and systems. The further adoption of open source is being undertaken to provide more choice of vendors and to guarantee RTA systems are providing value for money

The switch appears to be away from Windows/Intel boxes. Apple has recently been attempting to increase their enterprise sales, and this may represent one of the early successes.

[abbazaba]

theres no such thing as too many macs :cool:

[gekko513]

I bet this means new PowerBooks next tuesday :p

[afields]

This obviously points to new 3ghz powermacs..... :rolleyes:

[aswitcher]

ComputerWorld.com.au reports (http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;759393285;fp;16;fpid;0) that the New South Wales Traffic Authority will be switching to Macs.

According to the article, the agency will deploy 1200 Apple G4 iMacs across 140 registry offices.



The switch appears to be away from Windows/Intel boxes. Apple has recently been attempting to increase their enterprise sales, and this may represent one of the early successes.

A nice win for Apple Australia. Now if they would look at the bloody exchange rate and do something nice for us all -> at least they got the emac costing right but why should we suffer over inflated prices on most other things, ESPECIALLY software. Glad to see that got hammered by the Barrow in the Australian on Tuesday. Damn right.

[spaceballl]

Apple is actually SELLING computers now... in bulk! This can't be bad.
-Kevin

[eSnow]

Pretty ironic they are switching to Macs to establish OpenSource... As those who have been around back then will remember, Apple was most hated [tm] company among the OSS crowd back in the days of System 7.x.

Tempora mutantur - in 15 years, MS will be the provider of best of breed office apps for Linux :D

[mvc]

Moving to open-source eh? No-one sells more Macs than Microsoft. :D

[Frisco]

Really Good News!!

I hope this starts a major trend away from Wintel---towards Macs. I hope the rumor of FedEx switching to Macs is also true.

The world would be a better place if more companies used Macs! I for one would enjoy going to work a lot more ;)

[non fiction]

As a New South Welshman, I can tell you this is pretty cool.

Our Traffic Authority Offices are ugly places - I think iMacs all round the office will be a terrific look !!

They'll be able to spin the screens around to show you your mug shot on your license before they print it.

This is a pretty impressive enterprise account to get within Australia. Other Govt offices will have to begin to ask questions?

Good stuff

[iMeowbot]

Interesting. The application mix running on those desktops is the kind that Linux vendors dream about, and the iMac + OS X solution was still able to compete on price.

That's a nice little case study for when naysayers start in about how Apple machines aren't suitable for business use.

[Sabenth]

fantastic now for victoria queensland tasmania west australia and NT and S.A and then fix the roads and we will all be happy :D

[Hiroshige]

As the trade federation guy said, "At last we are getting some results!"
I think he also said, "Ah, victory!"

[ChrisH3677]

Wooohooo!!! As an IT manager in local government in Australia, this is fantastic news. Both the major applications we use that hold me back from switching our fleet, are Australian developed. Hopefully those developers will now realize that the government is serious about alternative platforms, and they will re-think their blinkered development.

It's going to take many, many years, but here in Oz, we might remember this event in years to come as the butterfly flapping its wings.

[johanwelin]

Congratulations to Australia and Apple! :)

[hvfsl]

I bet this means new PowerBooks next tuesday :p

People seem to be saying this in every thread. :D

[dontmatter]

darn. This is cool, but not nearly as cool as I thought it was when I first read it. If this was an air traffic agency, we'd seriously be talking. Because that would say, look here, in the place where reliablitly is not an option, OSX it is. That might set a precedent. But, no, all this looks like it will do (if Aussie bureaucracy is anything like American) is make it so the numbskull who tells you that you've got to wait another hour so they can process such and such a piece of paperwork to get your liscence will be working on a cool looking computer.

Other than that....well, any apple computer sold is good in my book, particularly to a new market.

I still want greater edu discounts for educational institutions, b/c apple portables are big on campus, but I know lots of windows users who would like mac, particularly ibooks, but are too worried about compatablilty, particularly w/ the schools computers. And I don't think this is an isolated case. (there are macs in the library, computer labs, etc. but not many)

Sorry, strayed way off topic.

I wonder-with new emac specs, imacs don't look good.....is this helping apple clear out it's inventory for the next imac update? Or perhaps they got ahold of the updated version, which IS coming out next tuesday? (well, I've got to be an optimist, right?)

And, if anybody's read this far... Why not get this board fired up, as we've had plenty of rumors and news these last 24 hours.... What does this say to the headless imac argument for buisness/gov sales?

and, I hate to be the sour person on these forums, b/c too man people get too defensive and worked up about stuff, but... please. The joke has gotten old. this is one time too many that I've heard "this means new g5 powerbooks on tuesday ;-)". It was once funny, making fun of how everybody tries to relate everything to powermac/powerbook updates, but now it's grown so old, that the only thing that might be funny is making fun of people who make fun of people's obsession with high end updates that aren't coming. And when it gets to making fun of somebody making fun of somebody, that's not funny, it's just sad.

so, there's my 3 am rant. Nothing insightful, but, hey it's 3 am.

[aussiemac86]

A nice win for Apple Australia. Now if they would look at the bloody exchange rate and do something nice for us all -> at least they got the emac costing right but why should we suffer over inflated prices on most other things, ESPECIALLY software. Glad to see that got hammered by the Barrow in the Australian on Tuesday. Damn right.

I am soooo in agreement here with the exchange rate, and whilst the emac is an improvement it is still not all that close.

i.e. emac on us site is USD$800
emac on aus site is AUD$1200
Based on this the exchange rate is 61.5 US cents to the australian dollar, by todays paper the actual exchange rate is 76.4 US cents, and it has been well above 70 cents for several months now.

the PM's are even worse
for base models
Aus site- AUD$3200- in USD(current exchange rate)$2432
US site - USD$1800- in AUD(current) $2368
That is an exchange rate of 56 cents!
Thats a AUD$832 difference, it would be cheaper to have one shipped over here from the US privately, however i wouldnt then be elligible for my edu discounts, which just about even it out.

I know this doesnt take into account taxes and stuff but seriously, can anyone give a decent explanation of this discrepency?

Also i may have stuffed up some maths here so forgive me but im fairly sure they are correct.

[aswitcher]

I am soooo in agreement here with the exchange rate, and whilst the emac is an improvement it is still not all that close.

i.e. emac on us site is USD$800
emac on aus site is AUD$1200
Based on this the exchange rate is 61.5 US cents to the australian dollar, by todays paper the actual exchange rate is 76.4 US cents, and it has been well above 70 cents for several months now.



I don't think its that bad compared to pretty much everything else in the Apple computer line.

$800 US = (@75 AUD:USD) = ~$1066 + gst = $1,173. Thats pretty good to the Aussie $1299. $125 extra AUD is ok. I've been conservative on the exchange due to recent falls that will likely continue.

$1000 = (@75 AUD:USD) = ~$1333 + gst = $1,466. Aussie is $1599. ~$130 aint to bad.

Sure I would prefer to see a more exact match but its about 11/12% above what a direct exchange should be, which is far better than the 30-40% other machines are currently at.

[iMeowbot]

darn. This is cool, but not nearly as cool as I thought it was when I first read it. If this was an air traffic agency, we'd seriously be talking. Because that would say, look here, in the place where reliablitly is not an option, OSX it is.
Safety applications like ATC are kind of special. Old, tried and true, tested to hell and back technology with gobs of redundancy is what's needed there, and Apple are only beginning to scratch the surface of that world with their xServe line.
That might set a precedent. But, no, all this looks like it will do (if Aussie bureaucracy is anything like American) is make it so the numbskull who tells you that you've got to wait another hour so they can process such and such a piece of paperwork to get your liscence will be working on a cool looking computer.
Yep, and that's about the same level where the vast majority of business applications sit. Apple have done an absolutely terrible job over the years of convincing people that their products can be well suited to boring, bland business applications, and got themselves tied into a "soft" perception of building tools made for more "abstract" things like education and creative work.

Selling those machines as straightforward business tools, in numbers, is a big deal.
I wonder-with new emac specs, imacs don't look good.....is this helping apple clear out it's inventory for the next imac update? Or perhaps they got ahold of the updated version, which IS coming out next tuesday? (well, I've got to be an optimist, right?)
According to the article, they are the same 1GHz 15" models still being sold to the general public.
And, if anybody's read this far... Why not get this board fired up, as we've had plenty of rumors and news these last 24 hours.... What does this say to the headless imac argument for buisness/gov sales?

A compact all-in-one design is an advantage in public-facing settings like counters in government offices, for many of the same reasons such beasts are popular in school labs.

[winmacguy]

A nice win for Apple Australia. Now if they would look at the bloody exchange rate and do something nice for us all -> at least they got the emac costing right but why should we suffer over inflated prices on most other things, ESPECIALLY software. Glad to see that got hammered by the Barrow in the Australian on Tuesday. Damn right.

I think the poor exchange rate has more to do with George W going to war with Iraq than with Australia, but still great to see Apple making inroads into Federal Australian Government in a security critical enterprise environment.

[Trimix]

one thing goes through my mind
if i were running apple i would not sell 1200 units to a 'prestige' customer if i wanted to retire the design in two weeks or two months or whatever.

the logic is that people would walk into this customer's offices and mumble about apple having gotten rid of their old stuff.

i know, i am almost the only person here who likes the imac, but does this not point to some updates rather than demise of the line ?

and don't flame for the 'prestige' customer, 'cause i consider every public office a prestige customer for apple.
go apple go

[aussiemac86]

I think the poor exchange rate has more to do with George W going to war with Iraq than with Australia, but still great to see Apple making inroads into Federal Australian Government in a security critical enterprise environment.

I think you have missed the point ya kiwi, The exchange rate is actually bloody good for once( recent months have been best in like 10 years) . We were complaining about apple australia refusing to pay any attention to the fact that this should be making computers cheaper in relation to those sold in the US.


Also on a minor point, NSW traffic is a state not federal govt dept.

[winmacguy]

I think you have missed the point ya kiwi, The exchange rate is actually bloody good for once( recent months have been best in like 10 years) . We were complaining about apple australia refusing to pay any attention to the fact that this should be making computers cheaper in relation to those sold in the US.


Also on a minor point, NSW traffic is a state not federal govt dept.

With regards to the exchange rate, we also get hit pretty hard since Apple NZ has to buy from Apple Australia.

( I did partially get your point ;)

NSW traffic may not be a state or federal govt dept (pardon my ignorance, we dont have states like OZ or US in NZ), but it is still a great move for Apple.

Cheers ;)

[gekko513]

It's so good to see good news rated 100% positive. I suppose it's because the american trolls are still asleep ;)

[gekko513]

It's so good to see good news rated 100% positive. I suppose it's because the american trolls are still asleep ;)
I seem to have woken a troll. Who are you, you b****** who rated this negative just now? %¤#&"!% :mad: ;)

[Zaty]

one thing goes through my mind
if i were running apple i would not sell 1200 units to a 'prestige' customer if i wanted to retire the design in two weeks or two months or whatever.

the logic is that people would walk into this customer's offices and mumble about apple having gotten rid of their old stuff.

i know, i am almost the only person here who likes the imac, but does this not point to some updates rather than demise of the line ?

and don't flame for the 'prestige' customer, 'cause i consider every public office a prestige customer for apple.
go apple go

I don't see any problem there as the iMac will only get a speed bump in the next few weeks. Apple might be redisigning the iMac for the G5 but we're still months away from the release of G5 iMacs.

BTW: Good on yah mates! It could be a good day for Apple Australia and I hope next time I come to Sydney, I will realise that Macs are sold in Oz as well :)

[Mencius]

I woner if the extra precision from the high quality computing machinery will help them put those speed cameras just micro-centimetres closer to the slower speed limit signs. The ones on the way into NSW towns off the highways ;) ... they always seem to get me.

Top news all round though, more macs in Australia, all the better.

[groovebuster]

Just one word:

COOL! :cool:

:)

groovebuster

[whooleytoo]

Because that would say, look here, in the place where reliablitly is not an option, OSX it is.

You might want to rephrase that... ;)

[jcshas]

The more the merrier :D

[kjwebb]

For those who don't know, most state/territorygovernment departments and even state/territory governments have introduced legaslation that allows open-source to be used in government departments.

If my memory serves me correct, the Australian Government has legaslation for this aswell.

Still, this is good for apple australia, a source of income that's not a graphic design firm or a university/school.

[reaper]

I agree that this is a step in the right direction for Apple. However, it seems that the iMac is still a high price point for many governmental agencies who want to switch to open source.

The iMacs are competitive on price (as noted above), but when budgetary constraints are concerned, the lower the price the better. Rather than see governments go the linux-box route, does anyone think Apple will start making lower end (i.e. cheaper) flat screen boxes for government/large corporation use?

- reaper

[Les Kern]

It's so good to see good news rated 100% positive. I suppose it's because the american trolls are still asleep ;)

They are awake. Must have been sleeping soundly after our leader's specacularly bad press "conference" (i.e. "commercial").
I've said it before: Small steps.
Add that to their increase in the ED market, and maybe we ARE seeing the start of something good.
How anyone can rate this as a negative is beyond me. And quit with the "american troll" crap. There are idiots in every corner of the globe.... we just have more per capita at the moment.

[Les Kern]

I agree that this is a step in the right direction for Apple. However, it seems that the iMac is still a high price point for many governmental agencies who want to switch to open source.

Not quite true. I just had delivered about 500K worth of Macs, and there IS a bulk discount. Even for my small purchase it was substantial. How substantial? I cannot say as I am bound by contract, but let's just say it would surprise you times 10. Now take government order of a thousand or more, add the fact Apple wants and needs that market, and imagine how good a deal they'd get. Go ahead, imagine.... Oops! To high! Try again!

[win_convert]

, does anyone think Apple will start making lower end (i.e. cheaper) flat screen boxes for government/large corporation use?


No. Never ever ever. That's not cool enough for apple.
Not status-quo-challenging enough. They would have to cut corners and that would make dodgy equipment. You would be replacing windoze with windoze.

[groovebuster]

Not quite true. I just had delivered about 500K worth of Macs...
In case you have "left overs", I can give you my address... :D

[748s]

I know this doesnt take into account taxes and stuff but seriously, can anyone give a decent explanation of this discrepency?


it's the buzzle levy.
apple lost over $30au million in the great buzzle fiasco.
we're paying for it.


next time i'm at the rta i wont be hearing, "the system is really slow" or "all the computers are down".

[reaper]

No. Never ever ever. That's not cool enough for apple.
Not status-quo-challenging enough. They would have to cut corners and that would make dodgy equipment. You would be replacing windoze with windoze.

I think they could make it look quite cool. Apple could use eMac inerds and iMac screens to create an in-between product line that would look great (with the right styling of course) and cost much less than the iMac itself. They could call it the gMac (government mac) or cMac (corporation mac). I think that would be a great addition to the product line and alternative to wintel boxes. Heck, I would even buy one of those. Just my two cents. ;)

- reaper

[reaper]

Not quite true. I just had delivered about 500K worth of Macs, and there IS a bulk discount. Even for my small purchase it was substantial. How substantial? I cannot say as I am bound by contract, but let's just say it would surprise you times 10. Now take government order of a thousand or more, add the fact Apple wants and needs that market, and imagine how good a deal they'd get. Go ahead, imagine.... Oops! To high! Try again!

True. But how much would the equivilent Dell order cost? It seems to me a lot of these large orders are decided on budget (because if it were on quality we all know Apple would win), and that a middle-of-the-road mac might make sense. I'm just saying that if governments or corporations could get their hands on flat screen macs for dirt-cheap we might see the beginning of great things.

- reaper

[Telomar]

one thing goes through my mind
if i were running apple i would not sell 1200 units to a 'prestige' customer if i wanted to retire the design in two weeks or two months or whatever.The deal was actually signed and the iMacs bought in January they are only just rolling out the new hardware is all.

[Stella]

11 Negatives. Sorry, I really can't see how this can be negative..

Oh, you mean they aren't using G5 PM!!

[cogent]

Due to the new US-Oz trade agreement (no tariffs on almost all imports), the price of electronics is set to fall. Both sides have yet to ratify the agreement in Congress/Parliament, but the timing may just be on the side of those with telescopes who are eyeing up the G5 powerbooks due September...

[gekko513]

I think they could make it look quite cool. Apple could use eMac inerds and iMac screens to create an in-between product line that would look great (with the right styling of course) and cost much less than the iMac itself. They could call it the gMac (government mac) or cMac (corporation mac). I think that would be a great addition to the product line and alternative to wintel boxes. Heck, I would even buy one of those. Just my two cents. ;)

- reaper
Who are these eMac iNerds you talk about, and how do they differ from regular nerds?

[iggyb]

I think the poor exchange rate has more to do with George W going to war with Iraq than with Australia, but still great to see Apple making inroads into Federal Australian Government in a security critical enterprise environment.

Yeah, I had a bad day at work on Monday...must be Dubya's fault. I had a bad hair day yesterday....Dang that George!!! Ever since he was elected, I've gained almost 20 lbs. ARGH! Dubya made me gain weight!!!! :eek:

[agility]

I know this doesnt take into account taxes and stuff but seriously, can anyone give a decent explanation of this discrepency?

Also i may have stuffed up some maths here so forgive me but im fairly sure they are correct.

There's a lot of assumptions that you're making though. they're reasonable assumptions if you've never run a business that imports good and must reconcile with a foreign company. The issues of FX (exchange rates) is a business and accounting nightmare. What most companies of any scale do is hedge against the foreign currency. i.e. they buy US dollars (through a financial instrument) to establish a fixed basis for a period of time. If you have hedged 6 months or 12 months in advance then your cost of US dollars is fixed for that time.

It's actually much more complex than this, but this will give you some insight as to how these things work. Importers just don't buy "on demand" using a credit card at whatever todays FX rate happens to be. Also... noone ever gets the FX rate that is quoted on the news or in the newspapers...

J

[iggyb]

This is a great start. I hope the trend continues. With the Unix-based OS, the reliability, and with anti-Windows sentiment going around....keep your fingers crossed. ;)

[Kid Red]

I just don't understand the 13 idiots that marked this as negative?

[rjwill246]

Wooohooo!!!

It's going to take many, many years, but here in Oz, we might remember this event in years to come as the butterfly flapping its wings.

That's well thought! Australian IT people I have dealt with, much like their Pommie counterparts, could never grasp the idea that there could be any choice outside of Microsoft. Deep down it was a fear that any other choice would not be safe and since America ran ONLY on MS product (widely held belief), Apple was just a fly in the ointment, there simply to confound the computing experience by offering an expensive and not very functional "alternative." I can remember bringng my PB to meetings in OZ and the UK and most people were astonished that 1) Macs were in existence and if so, 2) that anyone would be dumb enough to use something that couldn't possibly do anything useful, especially with Teddy Bear tiles on the desktop! How times change. Once, Phillips-Fox was a Mac using firm but they too succumbed- couldn't format Word documents properly between Wintels and Mac (true too- thank you MS for delivering inconsistencies like this) but instead of dumping the Wintel boxes they got rid of the Macs. Thanks to the IT guys who have made those recommendations , since it has given us a taste of the mentality and feel of the Dark Ages without the need for a time machine. Now, if Tassie gets on board with this.......

[aussiemac86]

Due to the new US-Oz trade agreement (no tariffs on almost all imports), the price of electronics is set to fall. Both sides have yet to ratify the agreement in Congress/Parliament, but the timing may just be on the side of those with telescopes who are eyeing up the G5 powerbooks due September...


Yeah im sure that will lower prices for some of the apple products which will be great, but will it still have that much of an effect on the hardware we get, most of which is manufactured in asia?

forgive my ignorance, but if a product is imported from one country (singapore for example) but is designed and the company owning copyright and stuff is based in another (the US).... Does the product get any tax from the country of design etc? and if it doesnt does that mean the trade deal wont have any effect on macs?

[Les Kern]

In case you have "left overs", I can give you my address... :D


Here is my answer to the question of "leftovers". Okay, I over-ordered laptops (background), so maybe, just maybe..... :)

[macridah]

Here is my answer to the question of "leftovers". Okay, I over-ordered laptops (background), so maybe, just maybe..... :)


cool pic ... drool

[Trowaman]

As the trade federation guy said, "At last we are getting some results!"
I think he also said, "Ah, victory!"

Ya mean Nute Gunray?

. . .God, I'm such a nerd . . .

[jrv3034]

Here is my answer to the question of "leftovers". Okay, I over-ordered laptops (background), so maybe, just maybe..... :)

Nice pic, but... is the guy giving us the finger? ;)

[sethypoo]

theres no such thing as too many macs :cool:

Yes, there is.

Too many Wintel boxes=anti-trust lawsuits, monopolization, and other bad things.

Too many Macs=same result as too many Wintel boxes.

[reaper]

Who are these eMac iNerds you talk about, and how do they differ from regular nerds?

sorry. innards. :)

[Les Kern]

Nice pic, but... is the guy giving us the finger? ;)

Uh, yes he is, or rather, I am. It was inresponse to the request by someone who wanted a free Mac, not to this gentle group! :p

[cait-sith]

love the emac(s) photo.. are those cleared out 1Ghz models, or new 1.25's?

i think now that apple is unix based, you'll see a lot of legacy stuff being moved over, or perhaps redone for osx. this includes a good chunk of stuff government agencies run. i like osx as the 'perfect balance' unix workstation: powerful but friendly (and not butt ugly). seems like theres always quite a trade between the three in the unix world. anyone done video editing in irix, or software development in solaris/freebsd? interface looks a bit nicer than win32 but not by much.

[ack, AU has a "free trade" agreement with the US? :eek: nothing's for free. :D]

[winmacguy]

Yeah, I had a bad day at work on Monday...must be Dubya's fault. I had a bad hair day yesterday....Dang that George!!! Ever since he was elected, I've gained almost 20 lbs. ARGH! Dubya made me gain weight!!!! :eek:

You obviously missed the point I was making ( although I got corrected by another poster from OZ saying the exchange rate was great for Australians)

My point was that ever since George W sent US troops into Iraq looking for Weapons Of Mass Destruction (also known as Iraq's Oil Supplies), the US economy has been languishing, the unemployment rate has increased and the currency rate of almost everyother country outside the US has risen while the US dollar has dropped in value against most other currencies in a big way.
If you think I am miss informed then prove it.
Cheers

[aswitcher]

Due to the new US-Oz trade agreement (no tariffs on almost all imports), the price of electronics is set to fall. Both sides have yet to ratify the agreement in Congress/Parliament, but the timing may just be on the side of those with telescopes who are eyeing up the G5 powerbooks due September...


I have doubts this will get through the Australian Parliament because it has been reviewed and found far to favourable to the US. More Words of Mass Deception that a jaded Australian society will be reluctant to believe.

[Les Kern]

love the emac(s) photo.. are those cleared out 1Ghz models, or new 1.25's?

The 1Ghz model. I had a timed lease and couldn't wait for a .25 upgrade revision. (I generally don't chase revisions... I'd be waiting forever, then even if I did something new would come out a week later!)
They all have 1GB ram and SuperDrives, FCP, Keynote, Adobe Creative Suite, Office and other apps. The laptops all have 640 and combo's. The kids should have some creative fun with these... all connected to our curriculum, of course.

[7on]

This means one thing, Apple Store in Sydney!

[painandgreed]

I agree that this is a step in the right direction for Apple. However, it seems that the iMac is still a high price point for many governmental agencies who want to switch to open source.

The iMacs are competitive on price (as noted above), but when budgetary constraints are concerned, the lower the price the better. Rather than see governments go the linux-box route, does anyone think Apple will start making lower end (i.e. cheaper) flat screen boxes for government/large corporation use?


Probably not, because it's not an issue. I've worked for both corporatins and the government where price cutting methods were tried using clones or otherwise cheap PCs. It quickly becomes evident that it costs more in support and replacement costs to buy cheap machines than to buy decent machines. Yes, they always like cutting a little off the budget costs, but the first time it comes back and bites them, they learn to spend decent money for decent hardware so that it costs less in the long run. What they're going to want is a reliable computer with good support that won't have to be replaced in X amount of years. Macs fall under that and are not any more expensive than similar PCs. Until Dell starts offering desktop linux boxes, corp and governments are going to be looking at Windows or Macs for desktop computers.

I think that Apple should look at entering the enterprise space as a desktop solution to companies who have *nix servers and applications. Linux on your server and OS X on your desktop.

[aswitcher]

This means one thing, Apple Store in Sydney!

Works for me ;)

[cb911]

well this is good news. :) i also hear that the Tax Dept. is moving to Open Source as well... perhaps some more iMacs there?

[PowerMacMan]

Apple is begining to dominate the world...

[fatbarstard]

Ah the ternal deabte about ticket prices between one coutry and another...

here goes:

1 Aust is a much smaller market that the US and smaller markets generally attrach higher prices.
2 Apple may have a higher market share in Aust than the US (imagine!!
:eek: ) and thus the company thinks the market can stand higher prices
3 Taxes, levies, border charges etc Given the minefield in the Aust tax system who knows... you can get a break on the duty if you are a vetran or only have one leg, however. Its true!!
4 Airfreight - it all comes in airfrieght and I can tell you that international fregiht rates are only going one way at the moment - up!

Bottom line is that you pay what the market can stand. A far more useful comparison woudl be between the relative price of Wintel boxes and Apples in other markets... headlines ticket prices on selected items are just no good in this respect :)

[ChrisH3677]

The most significant part of this decision is not the the choice to not go Wintel. That would have been easy given the Unix backend of their apps.

What's really significant about this decisions is that they decided not to go Linux

This to me proves that Linux isn't the great savior so many in the media and beyond think.

Surely it would have been significantly cheaper to buy Linux boxes?? Yes of course it would. So why didn't they?

I think because only OSX is both Unix compatible and has the key products from the Big 4 software vendors (Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec and Macromedia). Top that off with the ease of use, ease of support, stability and robustness of OSX, plus the support of Apple, and it's easy to see why they'd chose Macs.

This decision is a blip on the radar for Microsoft, but a major setback for Linux.

Until Linux can match Apple for support from those four vendors plus , they will struggle to make any impact on the corporate desktop.

Apple on the other hand... there's never been a better time for them to get back into the game.

[aswitcher]

Bottom line is that you pay what the market can stand. A far more useful comparison woudl be between the relative price of Wintel boxes and Apples in other markets... headlines ticket prices on selected items are just no good in this respect :)

Apple should be looking to shoot for better market penetration in preparation for a more aggresive move into Australia (NZ) by way of a store in Sydney. Keeping prices lower and marketing up, would allow them to capture more market share which will have big dividends for the future...

[Mencius]

This means one thing, Apple Store in Sydney!


Aye! Now bring me one in Brisbane.

Can't see it happening just yet though...

[jonnyblobby]

As I mentioned in a thread I started:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=66871&highlight=ausy+roads

Too bad the touch-screen test for my licence was on a PC.

[GRAHAMUK]

(if Aussie bureaucracy is anything like American) is make it so the numbskull who tells you that you've got to wait another hour so they can process such and such a piece of paperwork to get your liscence will be working on a cool looking computer.


Actually in my experience the NSW RTA is remarkably efficient. Coming here from the UK, with a UK license, I expected a long wait, lots of bureaucracy, inefficiency, annoying jobsworths with bad attitudes... but I got none of that. I walked in, explained what I wanted (an Aussie driving license). They gave me a computerised skills test there and then, evaluated it on the spot, photographed me digitally on the spot, took all my details and in about 10 minutes I had my license - all with a very friendly and efficient manner. I was blown away, and very impressed. And that was before they got Macs, now they'll be even more cheerful!

[GRAHAMUK]

A nice win for Apple Australia. Now if they would look at the bloody exchange rate and do something nice for us all -> at least they got the emac costing right but why should we suffer over inflated prices on most other things, ESPECIALLY software. Glad to see that got hammered by the Barrow in the Australian on Tuesday. Damn right.


I agree in this case, but normally "The Barrow" is a jerk. I hate reading his column (though I am compelled to because it's about Macs). He mostly serves up cold news that I read over a month ago on Slashdot, usually stated as fact without critical analysis, and the impression it leaves one is generally not as positive towards Apple as a reading of the original story might suggest. He appears to me to write up FUD which actually does little to promote Macs, maybe he's really working for the other side? The SMH does a far bettr job in its "Icon" supplement. (Recent stupid iPod scare stories apart that is).

[ChrisH3677]

I read Mac Man and Bleeding Edge in The Age's Green Guide. MacMan is one of the main reasons I switched. I kept reading his articles and salivating.

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/opinion/macman/index.html

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/opinion/theedge/index.html

[aswitcher]

I read Mac Man and Bleeding Edge in The Age's Green Guide. MacMan is one of the main reasons I switched. I kept reading his articles and salivating.

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/opinion/macman/index.html

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/opinion/theedge/index.html


Thanks. I've bookmarked those. :D

[doogle]

I read Mac Man and Bleeding Edge in The Age's Green Guide. MacMan is one of the main reasons I switched. I kept reading his articles and salivating.

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/opinion/macman/index.html

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/opinion/theedge/index.html


Yeah the Macman he really is under-rated as a writer. He has done much good for the Apple community (at least in Aus)

BTW Someone earlier referenced the Buzzle disaster as the reason for the disparity in exchange rates/cost of Mac...I think he was right.

[rt_brained]

So does the OSX beach ball spin in the opposite direction down there?

[groovebuster]

Here is my answer to the question of "leftovers". Okay, I over-ordered laptops (background), so maybe, just maybe..... :)

:D Nice picture. But shipping to Germany would be probably too expensive anyway, not to mention the customs... ;)

I love sigbn language! :p

Cheers,

groovebuster

[doogle]

So does the OSX beach ball spin in the opposite direction down there?

yeah and i ride a kangaroo to work everyday :p

[Telomar]

yeah and i ride a kangaroo to work everyday :pAww they only gave me a wombat :mad:

[kjwebb]

Kangaroo's, Wombats?

All I see people riding in canberra is bikes (moterbikes and bicycles), and also people catching ACTION buses and driving cars, trucks and utes (including good ol' holden ute's).

And the beachball spins right if I remember correctly (damn I should get to bed. Goodnight).

[210]

This is obviously good news, but surely it isn't until a major company adopts Mac that things will change. If that happens, more people know about Macs & may even buy 1 of their own. How many big companies actually use Macs? Any news that they might change to Macs? I know there's the FedEx news, but what happened the to outcome of that?

[aswitcher]

This is obviously good news, but surely it isn't until a major company adopts Mac that things will change. If that happens, more people know about Macs & may even buy 1 of their own.

Actually a government service will have more impact because:
a) everyone uses it at some point making for maximuim exposure through own or others experiences,
b) a government company is far less likely to take risks with what is almost goverment critical infratstructure, so this would encourage the private sector to use it for reliability

[ChrisH3677]

Actually a government service will have more impact

and governments are usually one of the biggest employers.

This deal alone means at least 1200 people will use Macs who probably haven't before... Plus thousands will see them when they come in to get their licence, rego etc done. And being iMacs, they won't go un-noticed.

Virtually every adult in NSW will be exposed to Macs in the next few years because of this deal!!!

:D :D :D :D :D

[ingenious]

It's so good to see good news rated 100% positive. I suppose it's because the american trolls are still asleep ;)


hey! i wuz gonna rate it positive when i read the first line! (it reminded me to rate :D)